Is Renovating a Pole Barn Practical? Welcome to our newest feature: Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday segment.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com […]

This is a hands on demonstration which can be done at home! Side note – I love audience participation as well as magic shows. Required items –  a two inch long #9 self-tapping screw with a ¼” hex head (like the kind used to attach steel roofing and siding), a block of kiln dried 2×4 […]

The basics of marketing teach us (as suppliers of pole building kit packages) to focus our efforts on those most likely to be a customer. If implemented (which most do) the problem becomes the focus is on direct competitors rather than enlarging the pool of potential clients. Everyone becomes more worried about losing a sale […]

For years I have preached about the efficiencies of post frame (pole building) construction, as compared to stick frame construction. I appreciate the beauty of a well-designed pole building – every piece has a structural function, there are not the redundant materials found in typical buildings with stud walls. The idea of efficient structural design […]

Are Engineering Fees Expensive? Although many people call themselves engineers, frequently illegally, a professional engineer is someone who has demonstrated sufficient education and experience to a state licensing board through written examination. Having gone to school in an engineering discipline, graduated from an engineering program or worked for an engineer, does not qualify an individual […]

How to Clean a Steel Roof Welcome to our newest feature: Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday segment.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com […]

More and more, post frame buildings are being utilized for homes. And with good reason – they are cost affordable and can be easily constructed by the average weekend warrior. The trend in all residential construction is towards a return to traditional and vintage home styles, with columns standing out as one of the hallmarks […]

Searching for a Contractor in All the Wrong Places Plenty of experts predict the Angie’s List business model — relying on consumers to pay for information they could get for free — is not sustainable. But Angie’s probably has a way to go before it runs out of steam. Yet even free review sites may […]

Roof Replacement – Steel Roofing Insured thunderstorm losses are much higher than they have ever been, and there is no sign they will return to lower levels any time soon.  Moreover, the current state of the insurance industry—from the focus on heavy marketing to standard replacement cost coverage on roofs—exacerbates these losses, creating a real […]

Pole Buildings and Insulation When designing a high-performance pole building – whether it be residential or commercial, the heating and cooling loads need to be shaved everywhere they can be. Thermal bridging creates hot spots or cold spots in the building envelope, and this makes a difference for heating and cooling costs—as well as for […]

Can I replace Gable with Gambrel Trusses? Welcome to our newest feature: Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday segment.  Email all questions to: […]

While splicing two pieces of wood together end-to-end might on the surface seem to be not such a big deal, the reality is that it has always been challenging and at times difficult. If you missed yesterday’s blog – I encourage you to go back and read it.  Will take you but a few minutes. […]

The first time I was exposed to finger joints in wood and actually noticed them, was when I was working for Lucas Plywood and Lumber of Salem, Oregon in 1979 (yep, back in the Dark Ages). I will digress momentarily…. My son recently turned 18, but when he was younger he had some interesting questions […]

The questions, comments and concerns never seem to end in my profession. Part of what helps to keep things interesting for me after more than three decades. Today a client asks: “I would like to see what the credit would be to omit the steel siding. the red rust really bothers me so I am […]

Pole Barn Contractors I recently read this posting on an internet forum: “Who can build a good pole barn in this area? Looking to build a building and need someone that can build a sturdy pole barn.”  In my mind, this is a reasonable question. And (most importantly) the person posting the question is looking […]

What is Wainscot? Welcome to our newest feature: Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday segment.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN […]

Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Rachel asked me today what the best solar panel roof slope? There are three main factors which go in to the calculation of how much sun a roof receives. Roof angle or pitch, roof orientation (how south-facing a roof is) and location. Since Rachel asked about roof slope, I will focus […]

For the most part, Building Department Plans Examiners are really good people. Most of them are just trying very hard to do a job which gets little or no appreciation. The primary responsibilities of plans examiners are to review building plans and specifications and double-check all calculations to ensure they comply with currently adopted codes. […]

While I have used metal plate connected pre-fabricated wood floor trusses in pole buildings (including one of my own buildings at home), they are not the norm. In the construction industry, much debate has been ongoing in regards to Section R501.3 of the International Building Code/International Residential Code: “R501.3 Fire protection of floors. Floor assemblies, not […]

In prior posts, I’ve mentioned phenol-resorcinol glues. When it comes to putting two or more pieces of wood together (like a glu-laminated column), this combination just can’t be beat for both performance and cost effectiveness. For those who want to be “in the know”, here is the straight scoop! WARNING: Failure to have aced high […]

Welcome to our newest feature: Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday segment.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com   DEAR POLE BARN GURU:  Will […]

Glu-laminated columns are a laminated composite product manufactured from high-strength lumber. By using multiple plies of materials, natural defects are randomized creating greater column strength and a higher degree of reliability. Hansen Pole Buildings provides glulam columns manufactured by several different companies, so there are some slight variations. This article will speak more to the […]

Largely excerpted from an article in “Metal Roofing” on March 13, 2013 by Jim Austin Roofing battles Mother Nature’s most physical and visual weapon    Metal roofing stands up to the forces of nature as well as or better than any type of roofing material. When it comes to roofing, Mother Nature doesn’t play favorites when she unleashes […]

Most people who have ever considered construction of  any type of building in the United States have had to deal with their local jurisdiction’s Planning Department. Most of those same people may report this as being less than a fun experience. We Americans are fiercely independent, we value the ability to have the freedom to […]

Pole Building Construction We’ve spent the last few days in the capitol city of Quito, Ecuador. If it wasn’t for our daughter having spent her sophomore year of high school here as a Rotary Exchange Student, we probably never would have visited Ecuador.  Once we were here, we were hooked however. The scenery is breathtaking and amazingly […]